After being in print for nearly two years, the soundtrack for Fri¦rikÿÑr Fri¦riksson's critically praised film of the same name ('EnglarAlheimsins') has had titles translated into English and is finallybeing issued worldwide from Fat-Cat. By now, however, the Icelandicpressing has circulated enough for the most die-hard Sigur Ros fans,plus their two tracks were already featured on the Ny Batteri CD EP.HÖH should be no strange name to brainwashed readers, as his pastincludes works with Current 93, Psychic TV and Hafler Trio but havingSigur Rós in the title of the album is a slight misnomer (and a hugeselling point), as they only contribute two tracks. The film has beenreferred to by many critics as the best Icelandic film ever made.Hilmarsson's entirely orchestral score is quite short and featuresquiet, simple recurring themes. Out of context, the music is simplyokay and doesn't do much for me. While it's truly emotional, therecurring themes are a bit too repetitious for my liking outside of thecontext of the film. I suppose if I ever get to see the film, myopinion will most likely change, but for now most people will be buyingthis for the Sigur Rós tracks which are currently no longer in printanywhere else. As for the two tracks, the first is an adaptation of anold Icelandic lullaby, "BÕum BÕum BambalÑ". Like much of the music ontheir last album, it's both delicate, soothing, but never dull, itbarrels right into the next track, the thunderous "Dànarfregnir ogJar¦afarir" (Death Announcements and Funerals). This tune is Sigur Rós'arrangement of an organ tune played on Icelandic radio duringobituaries. I personally wouldn't consider this disc essential, butthose mildly interested can now purchase it now for probably around $15whereas that Icelandic import was a bit steep, stretching to $30 inmany places.
samples:
- HÖH - Schiller in China
- HÖH - Over the Bend
- Sigur Rós - BÕum BÕum BambalÑ
The latest in the trend of Russian-released collections has taken the form of a new comp from the Tear Garden. While every album from the group is still in print, this collection is worth mentioning for a few reasons. The type is entirely in Cyrillic, so it should be noted that there are two previously unreleased songs included, "Good Evening Houston" and "Good Night Little Lights" (unlike the last Tear Garden compilation, A Bouquet of Black Orchids which came with nothing extra).
While some may feel it's in poor taste to review something I'm actuallyco-releasing, I also feel it's in poor taste not to share my opinion onsomething I love so incredibly.
For many years now I've gone without a Lustmord disc in my collectiondespite many people trying to convince me I should have some. Whatlittle I've heard of Brian Williams' 20 years to date project failed toimpress me and now that I have this disc in my possession, well, I'mstill unimpressed. The 64 minutes of "Metavoid" rely heavily upon thesound design skills Williams has put to use for dozens of films thepast 7 years, including "The Crow" and "Strange Days". Dark ambientcurrents and growls, padded with strings and angelic voices, areinterrupted by effected voices and often clumsy tribal/industrialpercussion and sound effects. Drab, clich? and predictable with equallydrab, clich? and predictable track titles. I feel as though I'mpartaking in some sort of pagan funeral dirge. Yuck. It's simply tryingtoo hard to be dark with little subtlety, always the key to superioratmospheric music as far as I'm concerned. That said, there are a fewredeeming qualities such as the climactic build of the nearly 12 minute"The Eliminating Angel" and the pure ambiance of "Oblivion". Butoverall, I think these sounds would be better relegated to cinematicbackdrop .
One of the more recent releases in Raster-Noton's clear series, "Wohltemperiert" ("Probably") is another collaboration between √ò (Mika Vainio of Pan Sonic) and Noto (Carsten Nicolai, founder of Noton). Primarily recorded during the winter of 1998 in New York City with gear borrowed from Larry Seven, the disc comes in a transparent flip top Trimpak inside a card sleeve jacket. Nicolai's contributions are seemingly minimal as the high pitched tones and glitches that are his usual auditory signature are used here economically. It's the sparse hum and pulse which are Vainio's forte that make up the bulk of these 61 minutes.
With a pair of new discs for Soleilmoon Recordings, both limited to 500copies, British sound artist Nick Parkin explores and simulates theprocesses of decay, geological and chemical, upon cities andlandscapes. Feeding field recordings, samples and instruments(percussion, flute, keyboards) into a Macintosh for additionalprocessing, he creates about 2 hours worth of slow moving, butgenerally busy, textured sound glaciers. It has become difficult for meto get really excited about these sort of works, having heard so manyof them in recent years, but together the two discs offer up muchworthwhile ambiance. When Parkin takes the tried and true 'less ismore' approach on the "Entropolis" disc, he strikes gold. Strip-miningaway the extraneous sound debris leaves tracks such as "Pulvial","Residues of Night" and "Eurus" with more ambient breathing space,making for moving pieces. 
But it's the sounds of nature that permeate the "Geomorphic" disc thatare more interesting, giving it a distinctly comforting and earthlyfeel. The elements shape the land throughout, "Talus" and "Moraine" inparticular being a fascinating jumble of water and ice soaked pebblesand boulders. Nicely done mate .
I love ambient guitar music. I am a sucker for it. If a band has guitarchords being played at a respectable volume, with all sorts of soundsswirling in and out, surrounding it, and playfully caressing the guitarline throughout, it's a relatively sure thing that I'll love it (evenif it seems to go on for an extraordinarily long time). Drone music, asit is often called, is amazing to me for this very reason. Thosefamiliar with the works of both of these bands will find lots to likeon this release, available now via mail order through The MusicFellowship (see 
From the Connecticut-based label Sonic Syrup comes an 8-song EP ofmaterial recorded between 1993 and 1997 by Scott Cortez, theinstrumentalist behind Lovesliescrushing. With Astrobrite, Cortezespouses much of the same blissfully noisy guitar layers as he has withhis other project; however, '8 Candy' takes a contrastingly morepop-driven approach, reflected in the sugary-sweet titles of trackssuch as "Sucker", "Jawbreaker", and "Sweettart". Comparisons to MyBloody Valentine's classic album 'Loveless' are inevitable, althoughAstrobrite descends a step or two further down the lo-fi ladder, beinga touch more texturally abrasive. The liner notes themselves tout "thebest in lo-fi four track aural pleasure -- listen at extreme volumes".Despite its pretty, uncomplicated song structures, topped off byCortez's winsome vocals and indecipherable lyrics, Astrobrite lacks theinnovative edge and sonic diversity of Lovesliescrushing (whoseforthcoming album on Sonic Syrup is eagerly anticipated). This releasewill, in all likelihood, still appeal to fans of MBV, unless they areslightly put-off by its uncanny resemblance to the latter.
Though this release came out back in June of 2001, I thought it deserved some mentioning here. And although Susumu's last album, "Sakura," gained him amazingly good press, including "Best Electronica Album of the Year" from The Wire magazine, this newer album struck me as being more progressive and subtle than his previous recordings: pure electronic bliss when at its best moments. Other times it can fade into the background but such is the nature of much ambient music. This album has apparently gained him "genuis" status amongst many of his contemporary artists and critics alike, comparing him to other such electro-luminaries as Aphex Twin and the legendary Brian Eno. The airy layers here can be truly beautiful, branching to anywhere from an oddly jazzy improv feel with fuzzy, minimalistic piano melodies, down to droney samples, trip-hop-esque beats and spacey (yet quite homely) instrumentation. The emotions here tend to leave me a bit on the bland side, but it seems more about the production and sound quality with this release - and it certainly is precise. This album was released on 
